bristle

CEFRC1

/ˈbɹɪsəl/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A short, stiff hair; to react angrily.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A chaeta: an analogous filament on arthropods, annelids, or other animals.

Examples

  • Soft bristle paintbrushes are best for watercolour painting.

  • His hair began to bristle with anger when the subject was mentioned.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈbɹɪstəl/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The hairs or other filaments that make up a brush, broom, or similar item, typically made from plant cellulose, animal hairs, or synthetic polymers.

  2. A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles.

More examples

In context

  • The cat’s fur bristled when the dog approached.

  • the bristles of a pig

  • The soldier’s body would bristle with tension before a battle.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The cat's fur began to blank when it saw the dog.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English bristil, bristel, brustel, from Old English bristl, byrst, *brystl, *byrstel, from Proto-West Germanic *burstilu, diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (compare Dutch borstel, German Borste (“boar's bristle”), Icelandic burst), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥stís (compare Middle Irish brostaid (“to goad, spur”), Latin fastīgium (“top”), Polish barszcz (“hogweed”)).